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BREAKING — OFFICIAL SAYS CHRISTIE KNEW, via The New York Times’s Kate Zernike: “The former Port Authority official who personally oversaw the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge in the scandal now swirling around Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said on Friday that the governor knew about the lane closings when they were happening, and that he had the evidence to prove it…

“In a letter released by his lawyer, the official, David Wildstein, a high school friend of Mr. Christie’s who was appointed with the governor’s blessing at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the bridge, described the order to close the lanes as ‘the Christie administration’s order’ and said ‘evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference’ three weeks ago.” http://nyti.ms/1nx2JN8

Meanwhile…

CHRISTIE AND GIULIANI NAB BOX SEATS, via NorthJersey.com: “GOP New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will be attending the Super Bowl in a luxury suite with his family and special guest Rudy Giuliani, who has been one of Christie’s main supporters during the ongoing George Washington Bridge controversy, according to a spokesperson.” http://bit.ly/1a8lqmG More football in a second…

THE BIG STORY IS THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE — THE STATE DEPARTMENT RELEASED A REPORT THAT BOOSTS ITS CHANCES: “The State Department has just released a final environmental study of the Keystone XL oil pipeline that increases the odds it will win approval from the Obama administration, representing a major disappointment to climate activists. Even before the highly anticipated report came out, oil industry supporters were predicting victory, while environmentalists ranged from angry to disappointed. But the report is not the final word on the Alberta-to-Texas project, and opponents still expressed hope that President Barack Obama will rule their way later this year …” http://politico.pro/1fioMRK

1.) WHAT THE REPORT DID NOT SAY: “The report does not make any recommendations about whether to approve or deny the pipeline. Nor does it take into account broader issues that will be considered in the next stage of the pipeline review, such as the project’s effect on energy security. Now the department must study whether building the pipeline would be in the U.S. national interest, with the final call going to Secretary of State John Kerry. The State Department official would not provide a timeline for a final decision.”

2.) WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: “The pipeline has become a seemingly endless waiting game, with symbolic meaning on all sides: Landmark of the North American oil boom. Litmus test for Obama’s seriousness about global warming. A source of uncommon friction between the U.S. and Canada. Keystone developer TransCanada has been seeking U.S. approval for more than five years …”

3.) WHAT’S NEXT, via Talia Buford: “The fight over the Keystone XL pipeline is far from over. [The report] sets in motion a series of deadlines in the coming months that will allow the public and federal agencies to weigh in on whether the long-debated project meets the broader U.S. national interest. … Kerry has no deadline to make a decision, which means he could indefinitely delay the project if he chooses. Neither does Obama, if the project formally makes it to his desk. An executive order from the George W. Bush administration lays out the process for the secretary of state to evaluate pipelines, bridges, water facilities and transportation projects requiring a presidential permit to cross U.S. borders.” http://politico.pro/1nx04Dd

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OK, let’s talk football …

HOW THE SUPER BOWL GOT A FREE MILITARY FLYOVER, via Philip Ewing: “The Defense Department is playing a major role in Sunday’s Super Bowl with air defense, ground troops, a flyover and other contributions, it said Friday. F-16 fighters will patrol a temporary flight restriction zone over New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, said Col. Steve Warren. National Guardsmen will be on hand for security and ‘community relations.’ An Army helicopter flyover will open the game.”

“There will also be a military color guard and a 32-member armed forces chorus, he said, to help sing the national anthem. Warren said the Pentagon regularly responds to requests for security at major events, including the Super Bowl. But military flyovers have been cut back for the past year because of defense budget pressures. So why, he was asked, were commanders willing to send the Army helicopters that will help open Sunday’s game? ‘This is the Super Bowl,’ Warren said. ‘It’s an event of national prominence. We believe it benefits the U.S. military to provide this flyover.’” http://politico.pro/LiEpiz

PRO REPORT PREDICTIONS: I’m rooting for Richard Sherman and Seattle, but I think Golden Boy and the Broncos will take it 24-10. RACHAEL WRITES IN HER PREDICTION … sorta: “Kevin, Kevin, tsk, tsk, tsk. Don’t you know anything about me? I, honest to God, couldn’t even tell you who is playing in the Super Bowl right now if my life depended on it.”

WHAT WILL KERRY DO ON KEYSTONE? via Restuccia: “The fate of the Keystone XL oil pipeline is now in John Kerry’s hands — and greens say the secretary of State’s legacy as a climate champion is at stake.

Kerry spent much of his Senate career at the center of the global warming debate, fighting an unsuccessful battle for climate legislation in the face of an often apathetic Congress. He wrote a 2007 book on environmentalism that included a chapter saying we face a ‘decisive decade’ on climate change, and he warns in his speeches that the world is ‘inviting catastrophe’ by ignoring the issue.”

“But he has never said where he stands on Keystone. He took no position on the pipeline during his years in the Senate, even as it swelled into one of the country’s loudest environmental controversies. He has continued his silence since becoming secretary last year. Now Kerry’s green allies have to face a reality: He could end up approving Keystone, a project they warn would lead to the release of huge amounts of greenhouse gases from the Canadian oil sands.” http://politico.pro/1eE6pFm

CHECK THIS OUT — OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY STARTS, via Jennifer Epstein: “A group of individuals close to President Barack Obama on Friday launched the Barack H. Obama Foundation, which will oversee the planning process for his presidential library.” http://politi.co/1aNFkE6

GAO: PERFECT STUDENT LOAN INTEREST RATES ELUSIVE, via Libby Nelson: “The Government Accountability Office concludes in a new report that it probably isn’t possible to set the interest rate on federal student loans so that the federal government breaks even. There are too many variables for a set formula to consistently ensure that the department neither makes nor loses money, year after year.”

“That might be an unsatisfactory response for Democrats who protested when the student loan interest rates were changed last summer. They argued the Education Department profits off students and that interest rates should be set to recoup no more than the amount that loans cost the federal government.”

OBAMA AIDE TELLS SUPER-RICH TO CHILL OUT, via MJ Lee: “President Barack Obama’s top economic adviser Jason Furman on Friday weighed in on the recent outcry by some wealthy Americans that they are being targeted by the White House, chalking up some of the concerns to ‘hyperventilation.’” http://politico.pro/1kmROD7

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